Doctor accused of assaulting bicyclists ordered to stand trial
Yesterday he was ordered to stand trial. Here's what happened at the Airport courthouse, according to a City News Service report:LOS ANGELES (CNS) - A former emergency room doctor was ordered today to
stand trial on reckless driving and battery charges for allegedly skidding his
car to a stop on a narrow street in Brentwood, causing two fast-moving
bicyclists to crash into the rear of his vehicle.
Christopher Thomas Thompson, 59, is charged with one felony count ofreckless driving causing injury, and two felony counts of battery with serious
bodily injury, as a result of the July 4 incident.
The bicycle-versus-car crashes in the 3400 block of Mandeville Canyon
Road nearly severed one bicyclist's nose, and seriously hurt the other, police
and witnesses testified during a preliminary hearing.
The worst-injured cyclist, Ron Peterson, testified that Thompson first
yelled at the riders, demanding that they pull to the right shoulder on the
narrow street so he could pass.
"The car went in front of us and pulled all the way over to the curb,
and slammed on the brakes,'' Peterson testified. ``My face and head went
through the window.''
A Los Angeles police traffic investigator testified that the motorist
told him ``that he wanted to teach them a lesson.'' Robert Rodriguez said
Thompson also told him, ``I've lived here for years and they always ride like
this.''
Another bicyclist testified that the doctor had performed a similar
maneuver in front of his bicycle on March 11 in the same area.
In the July 4 crash, Peterson smashed through the car's rear window and
suffered broken teeth, facial cuts and a broken nose, and the other cyclist
suffered a separated shoulder, officials said.
The crash led to calls for changes on Mandeville Canyon Road to make it
easier for bicyclists and motorcyclists to share the route.
Thompson, who is free on bail, was ordered by Judge Amy D. Hogue to
return to the Airport Branch Courthouse for arraignment Jan. 15.
Thompson is a former emergency room physician who now owns for a medical services company.
2 Comments
Leave a comment
About the Blogger
Larry Altman has covered crime in the South Bay since 1990. He's seen it all - the missing model who turned up dead in the desert, the wives found dead in trunks, the high-school coaches who get a little too close to their players. He drives his young colleagues nuts with his "I remember when" stories. He welcomes your tips and observations about the present, and you can mix in a little Lakers basketball talk if you like.
E-mail Larry at larry.altman@dailybreeze.com.
Twitter updates from Larry Altman
ADVERTISEMENT
|
|
About the Blogger
Denise Nix knew as young as grade school, when she spent every summer working on the camp newspaper, that she wanted to be a journalist. Denise has spent most of the last 12 years of her career in the courtroom. She joined the Daily Breeze in 2001, where she tracks and reports on hundreds of cases at every level of the justice system. And she's never, ever, seen a judge use a gavel.
E-mail Denise at denise.nix@dailybreeze.com.
Twitter updates from Denise Nix
ADVERTISEMENT
|
|
"physician who now owns for a medical services company." What English is that? You guys need an editor over there?
I was wondering if there is any further news on this? I understand the trial that was supposed to happen in March was continued. Thanks.